Catastropic damage to Famouth beach

“Bombs Away.” It sounds like the title of a war novel, but in fact it is the title of coastal scientist R. Jude Wilber’s eyewitness account of last month’s storm and its effect on local beaches.

Wednesday’s storm sent Mr. Wilber back to local beaches to record what he sees as the steady demise of Falmouth beaches. Mr. Wilber said he records his observations of the town’s beaches almost daily, noting wind speed, tide fluctuations, sediment and dune patterns, water fluctuations and other qualities specific to the coast.

Wednesday’s weather has only accelerated a problem that has been caused by man-made armoring designed to protect upland coastal regions, Mr. Wilber said. Woodneck Beach in Sippewissett is of particular concern to Mr. Wilber and members of the Falmouth Beach Committee.

Gregory L. Contos, committee chairman, said, “Woodneck Beach is a real catastrophe. We are going to have to assess the damages and see what we are going to do in the spring. It is in real tough shape.” Mr. Wilber, a professor at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, has been studying Falmouth beaches for the past 35 years.

He said Woodneck Beach is naturally nourished from two sources of erosion, primarily by the southern bluffs of the Cape Codder and also by the northern bluffs of Saconnesset Hills.

Since many homes and businesses sit on upland areas that affect beaches in other parts of town, he said both public and private enterprises have sought solutions to combat erosion. Read the rest of this Falmouth Enterprise story here. Read another Enterprise story about last week's storm damage (photo above) here, and comment below.

CapeCodToday.com welcomes thoughtful comments and the varied opinions of our readers. We are in no way obligated to post or allow comments that our moderators deem inappropriate. We reserve the right to delete comments we perceive as profane, vulgar, threatening, offensive, racially-biased, homophobic, slanderous, hateful or just plain rude. Commenters may not attack or insult other commenters, readers or writers. Commenters who persist in posting inappropriate comments will be banned from commenting on CapeCodToday.com.